


aura

by MachineryField



Series: The Divergence of Fate [3]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dreams, Gen, Minor Character Death, Minor Egil/Alvis, Minor One-sided Shulk/Alvis, Off-screen Relationship(s), Part of a larger series but can be read as standalone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:14:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27648032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MachineryField/pseuds/MachineryField
Summary: The first time Shulk dreams of the silver-haired man, he’s huddled up on Valak Mountain, clinging to the sword Dickson led him to. The Monado, his father figure had called it that. A name Shulk was supposed to get used to.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: The Divergence of Fate [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867429
Kudos: 6





	1. fake wings

**Author's Note:**

> Named after the song I've been listening to while writing this. Planned to be a two or three shot!
> 
> As noted, it's part of an AU -- specifically, my AU in which Egil is the protagonist, the Monado is unlocked much later in Shulk's life, and a lot of events get muddied because of that.
> 
> This, however, is a bit of a Shulk-centric fic exploring more of how he is in this AU!

The first time Shulk dreams of the silver-haired man, he’s huddled up on Valak Mountain, clinging to the sword Dickson led him to. The Monado, his father figure had called it that. A name Shulk was supposed to get used to.

He was still holding the Monado in his arms when he opened his eyes to a dream. Around them was Colony 9, silent as if it was abandoned. The man didn’t turn to look at him, but Shulk could tell he had been noticed.

“A place of comfort so quickly becomes a place of pain.” He sighed and moved a bit, Shulk unable to keep himself from following. “I wonder, with what is coming, how will you view Colony 9?”

“What do you mean?” He shook his head. “Who… who are you?”

The man didn’t answer, he just turned to face Shulk. Shulk felt his heart catch in his throat when he saw his face. He was beautiful, but he seemed so  _ sad _ … He stared at Shulk for a moment, and all Shulk could do was stare back.

It felt like emotions he couldn’t describe passed through them, and Shulk’s mouth became dry. The sad man finally turned away and it felt as if a spell was broken. The man stepped further away and let out a sigh.

“I suppose we’ll just have to see. I look forward to seeing how you grow from this, Shulk.”

As Shulk began to wake up, there was only one question left on his lips.  _ How do you know my name? _

\--

Shulk had been feeling weird ever since he got his hands on the Monado, but Dickson told him not to worry about it. Just keep moving towards Colony 9, and things would make sense soon enough. Shulk wasn’t sure if that was true, but he listened, anyway.

After all, Dickson took him in after that lab accident killed his parents. He surely had Shulk’s best intentions in mind when he told him what to do, right? Shulk trusted him, and so he thought that was the case.

He stared at the Monado, telling himself that, when he drifted to sleep in Tephra Cave.

When he opened his eyes to the dream, he saw the man he had forgotten about when not in the realm of sleeping. The sad silver eyes and the hair that gently billowed in a breeze Shulk didn’t feel.

“You’ll be back, soon.” He spoke first once again. “Are you prepared for what is to come? No matter what it is?”

“I don’t understand.” Shulk frowned, holding himself as he approached. This time, the distance seemed to close a bit. “What’s to come? What are you talking about?”

The man reached out and his touch against Shulk’s face was feather light -- it made his heart flutter. “Oh, Shulk… I cannot reveal too much too soon. Let’s just hope there’s a knight in shining armour who can save you, should things go awry.”

Shulk swallowed hard. “Would that knight be you?”

The man chuckled, shaking his head. “Alas, that is not the role I was meant to take on.”

Shulk was about to ask just who would be that knight when he once again woke up.

\--

It was the night after Fiora went comatose and Shulk decided to set out and take revenge that he had his next dream. This time, he stood on the platform of some sort of tower, so different than the Colony 9 backdrop of before. But, all the same, there was the sad-looking man he only knew in his dreams.

“It’s truly begun now. Will you seek only revenge, or will you look for more than that?” He spoke and turned away from Shulk this time. “Will you find answers on this journey of yours?”

“I don’t need answers, there’s no questions.” Shulk shook his head. “I just want… I want to make the Mechon and the Titan they came from pay. They took Fiora, they…”

His voice cracked as he thought of Fiora. Her sunny smile, her warm hands as she took his hand in hers, her quips and remarks when he and Reyn were messing around. The feeling of safeness she had represented, only to be ripped away when the Mechon attacked out of nowhere.

It made him angry, sick to his stomach, so sad he couldn’t describe it. Those were the feelings driving him forward, and they would not be subdued by any answer he could find. He’d never felt so strongly about this before, and it scared him.

But for now, it’s all he had, and so he would chase it. No matter what was said.

“This is going to be harder than I thought…” The man seemed to be mumbling to himself now. “I’ll have to guide Egil with a firmer hand than planned.”

“Who is Egil…?”

There was no answer waiting for him, as he began to wake up.


	2. a stray child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is officially a two-shot! A fun lil excercise~

Makna Forest was so hot that Shulk could barely stand it. He could stand it less when he made it to Frontier Village and learned from the villagers that he hadn’t been the first to pass through here. He had been on his way to the horn of the Bionis, a vision of what was to come pushing him forward…

But others had headed there. Another Homs and what they called machine people. Machine people… they had to be Mechon or somehow related to them. That made his rest that night in the village harder than it had to be.

Once again, he dreamt of the sad silver man, but this time… he almost seemed happy. He hummed softly and ran his hand through the hair of someone laying in his lap. Shulk opened his mouth to speak, only to be shushed.

“We shouldn’t wake up Egil, Shulk.” He spoke with a small chuckle. “You know what it’s like to get little sleep -- we shouldn’t take what little he can get.”

Shulk didn’t know why, but he nodded. “...Why are you in my dream again?”

“Well, our paths won’t meet as soon as I would like, so I thought I would visit you again.” He turned to look at him, with a smile on his face. “Did you not want to see me?”

Shulk felt his heart flutter again, but now wasn’t the time for that. A pretty face couldn’t distract him, not right now. There was too much he had to do…

“Are you near Prison Island?” He finally decided to just not answer and ask his own question.

“I may be, but we’ll miss each other, by just a bit of time…” The smile looked sad now as he ran his hand through the hair of the sleeping figure again. “We’ll have to wait to meet outside of your dreams. Just a little longer.”

“...It’s not like I can remember you when I wake up. Why does it matter?” He finally looked away. “It’ll be like a first meeting.”

“Perhaps to you, but not to me.” He chuckled. “I look forward to seeing you when the time comes… Stay strong until then, Shulk. I have my hopes riding on you, after all.”

\--

He had killed Zanza and the emperor of the High Entia, as he had felt he had to. He had blood on his hands, blood he never wanted to be there. He had just wanted to destroy the Mechon and any who tried to protect them… But if the emperor or his son spoke, it would have been a problem, right?

Zanza… Zanza had told him to test the power of the awakened Monado on him and so he had. But then it felt as if a piece of his screamed to kill those with him. He had done it -- to one of them. In the end, the emperor’s son had survived, if only barely.

He cried himself to sleep, knowing what he had done, and clinging to the Monado as before.

And there was the man, looking quite disappointed in him. He stood on Agora Shore, across from Shulk, a frown on his face. Shulk opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. What could he even say, after all that had happened?

“This will be harder than I thought.” He shook his head. “You’re going to be hard to convince, Shulk. But… I will trust Egil can do it.”

“You keep talking about Egil…” He shook his head. “But I haven’t a clue who he is.”

“He’s a friend. To both you and I, if you’ll allow it.” He nodded towards him. “...But will you? I’m starting to wonder if you can find your own Monado. Perhaps this one is enough for a man like you.”

“My own… Monado…?” Shulk furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“Only time can explain it to you, really.” He gave him a smile, though any joy was missing. “Just keep hold of who you are, Shulk. Everyone’s future… it relies on you, not on that sword of yours.”

Shulk didn’t understand, his words were just ringing through his head. He wanted to ask more, wanted so badly to try and understand… but guilt made sleeping for long periods of time hard.

Before Shulk knew it, he was already waking up.

\--

Shulk had run. He had been hunted down for what happened, and he ran. He hadn’t even looked back, not until now, when he settled down to try and sleep. Just an hour or two, so he could keep moving. Before Egil and the others could find him.

This time, when he dreamt of a man with sad silver eyes, he had a name for him. Alvis. One of the people who had been with Egil.

“Our meeting could have gone better…” Alvis spoke first with a sigh. “But I suppose that’s to be expected. It’s a good thing Egil doesn’t plan on giving up, hm?”

“Why do you all care so much?” His voice shook. “Why do you want to get through to me so badly? I… I just…”

“You are the only way my goals will reach fruition.” Alvis spoke, voice plain. “Egil, well… Egil just has too big a heart. I suppose you could call it something I love about him…”

Shulk flinched. He had found Alvis so beautiful, so… attractive. And as it turned out, he was in a relationship with a man who made his head burn when he spoke. A man who spoke of Fiora, of revenge, as if he understood any of it.

It just made Shulk’s head burn even more. “I don’t want anything to do with you, your goals, or that Egil.”

“...You’ll have to tell Egil that yourself, then. He is quite stubborn.” Alvis shrugged. “...And I think he’s gotten soft on you, already. Hard not to when he understands your pain better than anyone.”

_ No one knows my pain _ . Words that felt like a lie sat on Shulk’s lips as he woke up.


End file.
